Property investment and management

Key Contacts

We know property investment and management

Our multi-disciplinary real estate investment and management team is the largest in the Thames Valley and we advise regularly in relation to portfolios worth many millions of pounds.

Our dedicated planning and construction expertise enables us to provide a full cycle service: from site acquisition, through planning, construction, letting, management and eventual disposal – and taking in all points between.

Every long-term relationship we develop with our investor clients results in detailed knowledge of their assets. This saves our clients time and expense, both in the day-to-day management of their properties but also when the time comes to dispose or refinance them.

For our client MEPC, we provide advice on the management and running of their business parks at Milton Park Abingdon and Silverstone. Milton Park accommodates 7,500 employees and 250 varied organisations and is one of the largest business communities in the UK. We advise on the legal aspects of the day to day running of the park and on the our client’s development programme. In recent months we have advised on several significant pre-lets.

On the sale by BT Pension Scheme of three business park funds for £430m, the team advised on all real estate issues relevant to Chineham Park. The deal involved extensive advance preparation to put the client in a position to force the sale to exchange of contracts in three weeks from acceptance of the best bid.

MEPC acquired the development land adjoining the world famous Silverstone racetrack in 2012. Since then, development of Silverstone Park has been impressive, realising our client’s vision to create a high performance technology and motorsport cluster and a destination for engineering, innovation and business development. Read More

For our client Nuffield College Oxford, we advised on the acquisition of a major strategic site in the west end of Oxford, close to the railway station and the Said Business School. We are providing day to day advice on the management of the occupational tenants whilst plans are prepared for the overall development of the area.

Also for Nuffield College, we advised on a pioneering joint venture with Oxford City Council in relation to a prime site opposite the new Westgate Centre development in the centre of Oxford. Read More

We acted for the Topland Group of Companies on the sale to Tritax Big Box REIT of two warehouse properties for an aggregate price of £55.1 million.

Forfeiture or the “right of re-entry” is a landlord’s right to end a lease in the event of a breach by the tenant. This note provides an overview of how and when the right arises in commercial leases, the procedure to be followed, relief available to the tenant and...

Where construction works are being carried out on existing building, the relationship between buildings insurance for the existing structure and for construction ‘works all risks’ insurance needs to be considered. Where the project is a new build (or demolition and new build), the cross-over issues do not arise since...

The law with regards to the insurance of leasehold property, and reinstatement after damage or destruction, can be uncertain and potentially unfair. There is no implied obligation on either party to insure the property and there is no principle of law requiring that any insurance monies received are actually...

If a company goes into liquidation, the liquidator is able to disclaim the whole of an insolvent tenant’s liability under a lease. The disclaimer ends all of the tenant’s rights, interests and liabilities, effectively meaning that the tenant can get out of the lease early. This can have a...

Commercial contracts impose obligations on the parties to them as well as rights. Where the parties have complete control over performance of obligations (for example, obligations to make payments or not to carry out specified acts), it is appropriate that the obligations are absolute (eg “the buyer will pay...

The High Court has recently reversed a master’s first instance decision, which had held that an entire agreement clause in a share sale agreement was effective to prevent a buyer from bringing a claim for misrepresentation (Al-Hasawi v Nottingham Forest Football Club Ltd (2018)). This decision is relevant to...

BrookStreet des Roches announces the retirement of its Senior Partner, Hugh Blaza, on 7 December 2018. Hugh served as the firm’s Managing Partner for ten years from 2008 to April 2018 when he handed over the reins to Philip Shaw.
Hugh and partner Charlie Seaward joined BrookStreet des Roches in...

BrookStreet des Roches Seminar
After its success at the Oxford RICS Regional Conference, Jamie Barton and Simeon Fenn will be repeating their seminar guiding you through the pertinent issues for short term commercial leases. Aimed at property professionals, including surveyors, investors, landlords and occupiers, this seminar will cover the following...

BrookStreet des Roches Seminar
"What makes a successful collaboration?
Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success" Henry Ford
We’re told that 1 in every 5 businesses nationally is actively involved in collaboration and from our work across the sectors in the Thames Valley, it’s our...

Note: the Finance Bill 2019 contains provisions to reduce the SDLT filing and payment window from 30 days to 14 days for land transactions with an effective date on or after 1 March 2019.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax on land transactions. It is (potentially) payable whenever...

Note: the Finance Bill 2019 contains provisions to reduce the SDLT filing and payment window from 30 days to 14 days for land transactions with an effective date on or after 1 March 2019.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax on land transactions. It is potentially payable whenever...

The publication of major independent research guide Legal 500 United Kingdom 2019 has confirmed BrookStreet des Roches as a leader in our fields of expertise. We are, once again, recommended as a TOP-TIER FIRM for Commercial Property and have additionally received the highest ever number of recommendations for seven...

We’re immensely proud of our client relationships. We strive to be a welcome and constant companion throughout their journeys.

Many of our clients have been with us for a long time: some since the firm began. We help them navigate matters to achieve the right outcome and we stay with them until everything has been resolved. By securing and protecting our clients’ interests, we give them the confidence and freedom to focus on their core business.

Our clients operate in different industries and sectors, but most of them have serious real estate interests, whether in the form of property in the traditional sense or other types of physical infrastructure.

Specialisms

Acquisitions and disposals

We are experienced in acquiring and disposing of property investments of all kinds: from land for development through to existing business parks to multi-let buildings, from petrol filling stations to industrial centres. We report on the nature of the various occupancies and maintain careful and accurate records, updating them wherever changes occur. We are able to provide access via our client portal to any documentation requested by our clients.

Charlie Seaward

Partner - Real Estate

Justin Winterbottom

Partner - Real Estate

Real estate management

We work with landlords and tenants who wish to maximise the value and resilience of their property portfolios through reliable, efficient and unified management. We provide support and expertise in the granting of leases, dealing with requests from tenants to make changes to their premises or for their disposal, collection of rent arrears, tackling tenant breaches and dealing with rent review disputes.